This invention relates to textile yarn spinning machines equipped with mechanism for interrupting supply strand or roving feed.
Interruption of yarn formation by a textile yarn spinning machine such as a ring spinning machine, upon breakage of an attenuated strand issuing from a drafting unit, has been accommodated heretofore by taking up the attenuated strand in "vacuum end collection" system. Reinstitution of yarn production (known as "piecing up.revreaction.) has involved the joining of a strand of yarn to the attenuated strand issuing from a drafting unit, either by a manual operation performed by an operator or by a mechanical operation performed by an appropriate apparatus.
It has been proposed more recently that the supply strands or roving normally delivered to drafting units of a textile yarn forming machine, such as a ring spinning machine, be interrupted in the absence of continuing production of yarn. Certain difficulties and deficiencies possibly encountered in continuing production of yarn after breakage of an attenuated strand are thereby avoided. Any reader interested in disclosures of such apparatus may obtain a more complete understanding of the desirable results thus achieved and certain successful operating embodiments from U.S. Pat. No. 3,726,072 to Ford, et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,841,076 to Ford, et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,000,603 to Lee, all owned in common with the present invention. To any extent necessary to a full understanding of this invention, the disclosures of these prior patents are hereby incorporated by reference into the present description. As will be noted by the reader studying those disclosures, combinations are there disclosed of textile yarn spinning machines having drafting units, traveling units movable along the spinning machines and having detector means for monitoring production of attenuated strands and actuator means for responding to breakage of an attenuated strand, and means mounted on the spinning machine and selectively remotely actuable by the actuator means for interrupting feeding of the corresponding supply strand. Other generally similar supply strand interruption apparatus may be found in the disclosures of U.S. Pat. No. 3,498,039 to Kent, et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,807,161 to Ingham. The last mentioned patent is one of a series, which includes U.S. Pat. No. 3,604,195 to Sanders, et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,635,010 to Sanders, et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,636,695 to Ingham; U.S. Pat. No. 3,670,367 to Ingham; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,924,297 to Ingham.
As apparatus of the general type to which the present disclosure is directed have come into successful use, certain difficulties have been noted and overcome. Studies of the efficiency of an operator manually piecing-up ends on a textile yarn spinning machine equipped for supply strand interruption has led to an awareness that re-threading of a drafting unit has come to require a significant portion of the machine tending time of the operator. Particularly where the type of roving feed stop device employed requires close attention from an operator and where the creel arrangement of a narrow gauge frame results in a relatively crowded space for the operator to perform re-threading, it becomes relatively difficult and time consuming to prepare a roving or supply strand, re-thread a drafting unit, and reinstitute yarn production. Additionally, it has been noted that airstreams directed to actuate roving feed stop devices may in some instances impinge upon attenuated strands or machine elements in ways which interfere with spinning machine functions.